Notes: Musco Twilight, Desert Heat Classic

THIS WEEK
The Hawkeyes host the Musco Twilight on Friday and Saturday at the Francis X. Cretzmeyer Track in Coralville. Iowa will also send a group to the Desert Heat Classic in Tucson, Arizona, on Saturday.

HOW TO FOLLOW ALONG
The meet schedule and results can be found on the Iowa Track and Field schedule page at hawkeyesports.com. Updates and results will also be posted on the team's official 'X' account (iowaXC_TF). Ticket information can be found here.

2026 NEWS

• The Hawkeyes swept the men’s and women’s team titles at the 2026 Drake Relays.
• Iowa’s men finished with 40 points, while the women scored 37 en route to their Drake Relays Cup titles. Combined, the Hawkeyes won six of the 10 scored relays.
• The Hawkeyes took both titles in the 100 meters with home-state talents Holly Duax and Kalen Walker capturing flags. Duax won the women’s sprint in 11.52, while Walker won his first Drake Relays flag in 10.30.
• Iowa cruised to wins in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. Blake Nyenati, Jordan Gross, Jaylin Holmes and David Akhalu passed the stick in 39.72 to win the men’s 4x100. The women’s group of Jailya Ash, Alexandria Edison, Alivia Williams and Holly Duax updated the program’s record book with a 44.04 to climb to third all-time at Iowa.
• Iowa men’s 4x800-meter relay team of Carson Lane, Caleb Levy, Ryan Schreiner and Terrick Johnson secured the event title and flag in 7:20.36 for the second year in a row at the Drake Relays. The quartet clocked a third all-time best mark. 
• Sophomore Bryce Ruland won the men’s discus title, launching 57.06 meters to secure the victory. 
• In the women’s 400 meters, freshman Izzy Zahn was crowned event champion clocking a personal-best 53.24. 
• At the Kip Janvrin Open in Indianola, senior Hayden Kuhn earned gold in the men’s 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best 8:48.01. That mark ranks fourth at Iowa.
• In the 4x400 relays, Iowa’s quartet of Damaris Mutunga, Olicia Lucas, Gabby Cortez and Chioma Nwachukwu flew to a 3:31.05 finish, which marked the sixth-fastest time in school history. The men’s quad of Tyrese Miller, Landon Fontenot, Prior Ochonogor and Terrick Johnson sealed the victory in 3:05.25.
• Iowa’s sprint medley group of Holly Duax, Alivia Williams, Damaris Mutunga and Leanna Lewis won another relay title and scored 10 crucial points. The win came in 3:44.68 and landed the quartet second on Iowa’s all-time list.

LAST TIME OUT
The Hawkeyes swept the team titles at the 2026 Drake Relays after an outstanding weekend of competition. Iowa’s men finished with 40 points, while the women scored 37 en route to their Drake Relays Cup titles. Combined, the Hawkeyes won six of the 10 scored relays. The women’s team has now won back-to-back Drake Relays Cup titles, while the men are winners for the first time since 2022. Iowa took both titles in the 100 meters with Holy Duax and Kalen Walker capturing flags. Iowa cruised to wins in the 4x100 and 4x400 relays along with the women’s sprint medley group. The men’s team produced silver-medal finishes in the shuttle hurdle and sprint medley. Nyenati led the men’s shuttle hurdle unit before giving way to Tyler Kenaga, Sal Capaldo and Vaughn DeVaughn III to complete a school-record performance. In the field, sophomore Bryce Ruland won the men’s discus title, launching 57.06 meters to secure the victory. Freshman Josephine Flynt continued to climb the ranks on the women’s all-time list placing second overall at 59.45 meters in the hammer throw university division. Overall, the Hawkeyes claimed 13 event titles with 13 updates to the all-time list including a school record set. 

LAST TIME HERE 
Last season, the Hawkeyes highlighted the 23rd-annual Musco Twilight with a new school record, two facility records and multiple personal bests. Ryan Johnson led Iowa in the men’s hammer throw, breaking his own school record and setting a new facility record with a throw of 73.20 meters. On the track, Kalen Walker won the men’s 100 meters with a time of 10.11, while Olicia Lucas took first place in the women’s 400 meters, finishing in 54.21. In the men’s 400 meters, Landon Fontenot secured the title, running 47.14. Ali Frandsen led the Hawkeyes in the women’s 400-meter hurdles placing first in 59.13. Gabby Cortez picked up a lifetime best along with the women’s 800-meter title in 2:05.39. Also collecting wins for the Hawkeyes was Julia Gehl, Kyle Montgomery, and the women’s 4x400 relay team. Overall, the Hawkeyes picked up 21 titles. Iowa last competed at the Desert Heat Classic in 2024, when the Hawkeyes won three event titles. 

B1G HONORS
Two Hawkeyes were named Big Ten Athletes of the Week on March 25. Emmanuel Njoku's 7.95-meter jump led the nation at the time. He won the title at the UCF Black & Gold Invite to open outdoor season. Prior Ochonogor kicked off his outdoor campaign with a title in the 400-meter hurdles. Ochonogor's time of 50.20 led the nation after opening week. He moved to 7th on Iowa's all-time list. 

JOHNSON ON THE BOWERMAN WATCH LIST 
Ryan Johnson has been named to The Bowerman Award Watch List, which honors the top male and female collegiate track and field athletes of the year. Johnson had a dominant indoor campaign, winning the NCAA and Big Ten title in the weight throw. The junior was Iowa’s first-ever weight throw champion and third overall champion in program history. He became a back-to-back Big Ten champion and holds Iowa’s only weight throw conference titles in school history. Johnson’s mark of 25.66 meters at the Big Ten Championships set the 2026 world lead. The throw broke his previous school record and shattered the collegiate, meet, and facility records. Johnson now ranks third all-time among American weight throwers and fourth in world history in the event. During the indoor season, Johnson claimed eight event titles and reset the school record three times. He was named the USTFCCCA Men’s National Athlete of the Week on Feb. 9 and earned Big Ten Men’s Field Event Athlete of the Week honors twice. Johnson opened his outdoor season with a school-record throw of 75.75 meters in the men’s hammer throw, surpassing his previous program record of 73.20 meters. He bettered that the following weekend with a 77.64-meter throw at the Big Red Classic. He now holds the No. 2 mark in the country. He has been the B1G Field Athlete of the Week twice during outdoor season.

IN THE RANKINGS
This week, the Hawkeyes have seven events ranked in the top 15, highlighted by the No. 1 men’s hammer throw. The men’s 400-meter hurdles come in at No. 2, while the women’s 400 and 110-meter hurdles are both ranked No. 7. The men’s 800 meters is sitting at the No. 8 spot. The men’s 400 meters and women’s 10,000 meters round out the top 15 ranking No. 11 and No. 14, respectively. The men's team is ranked fourth in the Midwest Region and the women are ranked No. 6.

SCHOOL-RECORD HOLDERS
Eight school records have been set by current members of the 2026 Iowa roster:

• Kalen Walker: Men's 100 Meters (9.94)
• Chioma Nwachukwu: Women's 400 Meters (51.24)
• Luke Knepp: Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase (8:34.97)
• Ryan Johnson: Men's Hammer Throw (77.64 meters)
• Mike Stein: Men's Javelin (81.19 meters)
• Lizzy Korczak: Women's Javelin (58.10 meters)
• Men's Shuttle Hurdle Relay: Nyenati, Kenaga, Capaldo, DeVaughn III (56.25)
• Women's 4x400 Relay: Al. Williams, Mutunga, Lucas, Nwachukwu (3:26.90)

UPDATING THE ALL-TIME LISTS
The Hawkeyes made 21 updates to the outdoor top-10 lists:

• Women's 100 Meters: Holly Duax (4th)
• Women’s 100-Meter Hurdles: Jailya Ash (4th)
• Women's 200 Meters: Chioma Nwachukwu (4th)
• Men's 400 Meters: Tyrese Miller (9th)
• Women’s 400 Meters: Chioma Nwachukwu (1st), Alivia Williams (9th)
• Men's 400-Meter Hurdles: Prior Ochonogor (6th)
• Women's 400-Meter Hurdles: Ali Frandsen (10th)
• Women's 800 Meters: Leanna Lewis (2nd), Gabby Cortez (4th), Rosemary Arthur (5th)
• Men’s 800 Meters: Terrick Johnson (5th)
• Men's 1,500 Meters: Carson Lane (10th)
• Men's 3,000-Meter Steeplechase: Luke Knepp (1st), Hayden Kuhn (4th)
• Men’s 5,000 Meters: Hayden Kuhn (3rd)
• Women's 4x100 Relay: Ash, Edison, Al. Williams, Duax (3rd)
• Women's 4x400 Relay: Uche, Mutunga, Williams, Nwachukwu (2nd) Lucas, Mutunga, Lewis, Nwachukwu (3rd), Mutunga, Lucas, Cortez, Nwachukwu (6th)
• Men's 4x800 Relay: Lane, Levy, Schreiner, Johnson (3rd)
• Women's 4x800 Relay: Uche, Arthur, Cortez, Lewis (2nd)
• Men's DMR: Wolfe, Johannes, Leicht, Lane (5th)
• Women's DMR: Arthur, Ar. Williams, Kelly, Blazek (4th)
• Men's Shuttle Hurdles Relay: Nyenati, Kenaga, Capaldo, DeVaughn III (1st)
• Men's Sprint Medley: Gross, Akhalu, Rowswell, Levy (4th)
• Women's Sprint Medley: Duax, Al. Williams, Mutunga, Lewis (2nd)
• Women’s Hammer Throw: Josephine Flynt (7th), Peyton Wilson (9th)
• Men’s Hammer Throw: Ryan Johnson (1st), Tate Joens (4th)
• Men's Decathlon: Sal Capaldo (6th)

UP NEXT
Iowa wraps up the regular season on May 8 at the Cyclone Twilight in Ames.